Three millennia. That is a long time to be stuck in the ground. But he would not know, seeing how being in a coma-like state makes time fly. But now he is awake, and unprepared for the new world.
Who knew that a long kept secret could come back to haunt you. Apparently that's to be expected, but in the case of Celestia and Luna's dark secret, it is an entirely different matter on its own. Applejack will learn more about honesty, along with her friends learning how to stop an ancient being. How far will everypony have to go to end the madness? Very far. With one pony in particular learning a secret her own family has been holding on to for some time.
Dirt. That was all he could see. Or think about seeing as he had no eyes to see with. He would have tried to stretch but being surrounded by dirt limits movement, and when there is to nothing move. He became alarmingly aware of this, and started to panic. However, he calmed himself quickly, deciding that getting riled up was no solution to the matter at hand. He also took notice to the fact that he had a full field of view. He could look behind him completely by turning. He, however, did not turn. Only his gaze did. So, after taking a minute to let all of the shocking news sink in, he chose to wait. Wondering if anything would find him, and hopefully dig him out. The possibility was slim if not none, but he hoped. Oh how he hoped.
"Sweetie get up! You promised to help with my jewel hunt right?!" said Rarity as she grabbed her bag.
"I'll be right down!" screamed back Sweetie Belle. With a sigh she got out of bed, went into the bathroom, and freshened up a little. As in throwing water on her face, then drying off. Coming down the stairs quickly, she turned into the kitchen, finding nothing but her bags on the table. She grabbed them, and ran outside to join her sister.
"Finally." Rarity said with great exaggeration. "Are you ready to head off?"
"Yup! But I was thinking we could take Applebloom and Scoots with us too."
"Ugh." Rarity glared at Sweetie Belle, who had put on a large smile. "Fine. But only if they are not busy."
Ten minutes later...
As they reached Sweet Apple Acres to pick up the first filly, they saw Applebloom at the front gate, talking with Scootaloo. Rarity thought this as too much a coincidence, but decided not to argue as that might just make things worse for her.
"Hey ya'll! What are you two doing here?" Applebloom said this kind of slow, almost as if it was practiced before hand. Rarity just stared at them with a very nonchalant look on her face.
"Come on, we haven't got all day." Rarity spat out the words with very little care, and proceeded to walk away while the girls behind her cheered to themselves with glee.
~~~
As they arrived at the spot, selected by Rarity beforehand, Rarity began to tell them what they were going to do. "Now that we're here, lets assign some jobs. You two," she said as she looked at Scootaloo and Applebloom, "can dig up the ones we find, while me and Sweetie Belle find them."
"Got it!" All three of them said in unison.
"Now Sweetie," Rarity then turned to her sister. "Do you remember how to use the spell I taught you?"
"I think so." Sweetie Belle concentrated hard, and after a little bit, managed to charge the spell to full working order. "I found one!" She squealed in joy. Rarity chuckled to herself, as the gem Sweetie Belle found was no doubt small. However, finding one that quickly did impress her a little. Aiming her own spell at the spot Sweetie Belle was, she stared at the stone not six hooves from her. And it was beautiful. Oddly enough, it was a perfectly round hunk of amber. Not 5 inches long. Normally, Rarity wouldn't be interested in some random piece of Amber stuck in the ground, but this one was different. It called to her, begging for attention. So she did the only thing she could do.
Dig the thing up.
After Applebloom and Scootaloo were done, there was a good size hole in the ground. The amber was even on a pedestal made from dirt that the two left there. Picking it up with her magic, Rarity gave it a hungry look of satisfaction. Then, putting it away in her bag, the four of them went on to find more.
With the three girls there to help her, Rarity managed to pull a load that was near, if not double, her previous loads. And what's more, it only took them three hours to do so. Satisfied, Rarity led the troop home. First dropping off Applebloom, and Scootaloo running off towards home as they got back to the center of Ponyville. As they were heading back to the boutique, Rarity barely noticed the slight change in weight in her saddlebags. She went on, soon bumping into Twilight, who struck up a conversation with her. Sweetie Belle was sent on to go home. All the while, the amber had found its new home half submerged in dirt, a ways down the path they came.
Groaning, Applejack rolled out of bed rather tired despite the day off from yesterday. "Let's hope today will have something to do." After shaking her head a little to extinguish any sleep, she went over to Appleblooms' room. "Wake up Applebloom! We have a long day ahead of us." Even Applebloom was tired, but eventually gave in and got up ready for the day. After breakfast, Applejack started to head into town to set up her stand but was stopped by Applebloom.
"Can I come with you?"
"Now why would you wanna do that?" Applejack inquired. "Weren't you going to play with your friends today?"
"Yeah, but that's not for another three whole hours!" said Applebloom as she put on her best 'big eyes' look. Sighing, Applejack agreed and they headed off. When they got to town, Applejack started to set-up the stand while Applebloom did her thing (which involved making customers buy stuff). Approaching one pony, "Would you like to buy some of our product from Sweet Apple Acres?"
Blankly, "No thanks." was the mares reply. This seemed to repeat quite often that day. So Applejack made the decision to pack up early after a little more than two hours of being out there. Hearing a thump, Applejack looked back seeing Applebloom laying on the ground.
"Sorry bout that sis, must have tripped on something." said Applebloom seeing the look on her big sisters face. Looking down at the spot where she tripped there was a very noticeable glint in the dirt. As she got closer to look at it, she realized why it seemed familiar to her. "Hey Applejack! This looks like a jewel that Rarity had when we went digging with her." But that can't be right can it? Applebloom was positive Rarity had it in her bag securely enough so it couldn't just fall out.
"Are you sure? The chances of that happening..."
"Yes I'm sure! It's the same size, the same color, and has the same glint to it too!"
"Same glint?"
"Yup, see how it has that shine to it? It's almost as if there's somethin' there..."
"Well if ya really think that it's Raritys' then you should go give it back t'her." said Applejack as she reached down to pick up the strange gem. As soon as her mouth hit it there was a sudden jolt of energy that pulsed through her. It was not harmful and only lasted for a second or two, but it made her jump nonetheless.
"What's the matter?"
"Um, nothing." Applejack's thoughts were racing to figure out what just happened, so reaching out again for the gem she picked it up. Nothing happened this time. Confused, she put it away and started to head over to Rarity's. When they got near the boutique, Applebloom knocked and was soon answered by Sweetie Belle.
"Applebloom!" squealed Sweetie Belle. "I thought you weren't coming for another half-hour or so."
"We were in town so I decided to just come over early than to walk home then come back out here. And is Rarity here?"
"Rarity? No she went somewhere, she won't be back for the rest of the day. Why?"
"Well we found a gem in the middle of town and it looked like one that Rarity had when we were digging."
"She is missing that amber we found..." Sweetie Belle put her hoof against her chin, wondering about the situation.
Applejack now stepped up to show her the gem. "Is this it?"
"You found it?!" We looked everywhere for it! Well Rarity did. It was out on the road?"
"Yup. Well you can give..." Applejack was about to hand it over to her when something stopped her from doing so. "Don't." She kept moving forward but it sounded again, this time louder. "DON'T."
"Uh, Applejack? You okay?"
"What? Oh yeah...um...how 'bout I hold on to this. Rarity won't be back until after Applebloom comes back home, so I'll drop it off tomorrow."
"Uh, OK?" Sweetie Belle was obviously confused but decided not to argue with it. So letting it go she and Applebloom went inside while Applejack left for home.
"What was that?" she said to herself. That weird thought...no, voice, was disturbing her. Where did it come from? And why didn't it not want this gem to go to Rarity? The entire walk home she was thinking about what occurred back there. When she got home she put everything away; rushed up to her room, placed the gem on her bed, and gave it a good stare. Picking it up in her hooves, she turned it, studied it thoroughly, and even hit it gently on something. Glaring at it she placed it in a drawer then went downstairs to see if any work was to be done.
"Ignorant little..." He was having trouble trying to understand why his magic had no effect on the mare that was carrying him around, but not bothered too much. Although when she was studying him, that was pushing it. He did not like that in fear of being found out. He was sure that this mare had experience with magic before, he was just not sure how much. "Doesn't matter now, soon I will be back at full power. I just hope that I won't need to reveal myself in the process...using these ponies to get around is painful enough. Soon...very soon.
He was getting annoyed with this constant waiting. He was hoping for a chance to get out and explore in hopes of finding his body, but he needed help in...moving around. So as time went on, he was left on that dresser with nothing to do but observe and think. Until the time came when the mare called Applejack came to bring him back to that unicorn. He was not going to have that.
Wiping off her forehead, Applejack glanced up at the sky to see how late it was. Night was almost out, so she decided to go pick up Applebloom. Almost ready to head out, she almost forgot to get the gem that was lying on her dresser. Running up stairs, she took a brief moment to stare at the darn thing, then grabbed it, and rushed back out. As she walked on a tingle came from where she put it in her bag. Thinking it as nothing, Applejack kept going. But as she got closer and closer to Rarity's boutique the "tingle" coming from her bag expanded more and more. "OK that's it!" Putting her bag down,(more like throwing it) she opened it up, took out the gem and put it on the ground next to it. "What is wrong with this thing?!"
"No! I will NOT be brought back to her! This has been delayed for far to long!" Focusing intensely he welled up enough magic to force her to touch him with her hoof. Then he will make he understand.
As Applejack inspected it, there was a sudden urge to touch it. Resisting the urge was hard, to the point where she gave in after only a couple seconds. When her hoof made contact a...force...was slammed into her. It didn't force her back, but felt like it was in her mind. "LISTEN UP, I've had enough of this! I have tried to make it clear I do NOT want to go there but you persist none the less. So now I have been forced to make myself known, tell me. Where am I?!" After hearing this echo in her head Applejack was stunned and made no effort to reply. "Oh so you don't want to sort this out? Well news flash honey I literally have all the time in the world to talk about this. You don't. So here is what's going to happen. You are going to go up to that house over there. You are going to tell her that I have disappeared on you, which I will in a second. Then you will walk back home where we can talk. Understand?" Applejack was still stunned but was listening. So she nodded, not seeing a way out of it. With a pop the gem was gone, it reminded her of how Discord teleports away. She slowly backed up, grabbed her bag and went to Rarity's at a slow run.
"Go get her Sweetie Belle! Sorry about that Applejack you were saying?"
"Yeah well, I found that gem thing you lost a day or two ago..."
"Oh you did?! Do you have it with you, oh I knew somepony would find it."
"Well about that, it disappeared on me."
"Wha...really?"
"Yup and I don't have a clue where it is now, but I will be sure to keep an eye out for it." Oh, I'll keep my eye on it alright...
"Well ok then, but if you do find it please come on by to give it back, I do miss it." Just as Rarity finished Sweetie Belle came back with Applebloom, who looked quite tired.
"Ready to go kiddo?"
"Yup!" After saying their goodbye's Applejack and Applebloom headed off for home. They both were going along at a brisk pace so they arrived rather quickly. Applebloom rushed upstairs for bed while Applejack sat in the kitchen for moment. What could this mean? I know that gems don't talk, so why could this one. And why was it talking in my head?! Putting her head down on the table in frustration there was the all to familiar "pop" once again. And the amber was underneath her hoof twinkling like before.
"There has to be a more secluded place for our meeting than your kitchen."
"Oh shut up..."
"Oh my stars she can talk! Well come on, I'll bet you're dying to go to bed soon so lets get this over with." Applejack lifted the gem off her table and brought it out to the barn which was far enough away from the house for them not to be overheard. "OK first things first, before you set me down I have to make this clear. We have to be touching for communication to occur, it's how my magic works, don't argue."
"So let me get this straight, a magic stone that can talk. What else is new..."
"Second. I am not a stone, I am a HE that happens to be stuck in this thing. I would tell you my name but I don't believe we are acquainted enough for that, so you may call me O."
"O?"
"It stands for something, now if you have questions go ahead. All I have are three requests."
"Well my name is Applejack, who or what are you? I mean I've had my fair share of magic and the sort, but you're a first."
"Nice to meet you Applejack, and that does not surprise me. Well like I said before I will not share my name with you but I will give some background on myself if I must. I do have a body other than this prison, but as you can tell I don't have access to it right now. If you want to know more go find the book Revertere. Now for what am I...I can't answer that."
"Uh why not?" Questioned Applejack as she yawned. She could tell it was very late out and wanted this to hurry up.
"I don't entirely know myself."
"You don't know what you are? That's a little concerning" she said with a smirk.
"I suppose it is. But on another topic my requests. One, I am NOT going back to that unicorn. Two, do not reveal my existence to anyone...or anypony as you prefer. I will reveal myself if it is necessary. Third, I will need help with something in the future, this you do not have to comply to but I would most appreciate it."
"I can go with all of those. But that last one will need explaining later..." Applejack's frequent yawning was interrupting her talking, which was starting to annoy her.
"Go get some sleep, if you insist on continuing you will find me by the third post on the left at the entrance gate. Farewell for now." With another "pop" he was gone. Applejack did not argue either, exhaustion was beating her up and all she wanted was her bed. So off she went.
O watched as the mare walked back up to her house with satisfaction. His plans were not going exactly to plan but were running smoothly enough. He was glad that this weight of silence was lifted off his chest, being known was more his style anyway. With a mental sigh he buried himself where he told her then drifted off in a form of sleep, like deep daydreamin. Tomorrow there will be progress, and hopefully he will get answers of his own.
"Mmm...Applebloom?" Scootaloo was lying down on the floor of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse, and was extremely bored out of her mind.
"What is it Scoots."
"Anything to do today, like at all?"
"Nothing ah can come up with." Applebloom was in the same difficult situation. There was just nothing for them to do today. Getting up, she went over to the window facing the front of the farm. Staring out over the field her eyes gradually settled on the entrance gate, and with it an idea. "Hey, wanna have a race over to the fence?"
"A race? Come on Applebloom that's not exciting enough."
"Well it's something right?"
"True..."
"Well come on!" Applebloom raced out the door to spot she deemed the starting line. Both of them hunched and ready to bolt at any time. "Ready?"
"Yeah!" Scootaloo picked up a pebble and lobbed it straight up into the air. When it hit the ground they would start. Pretty simple if your watching the pebble the whole time. Then it came, 'tink'. And they were off. Both Applebloom and Scootaloo got a good start, neither of them were ahead of the other for the first half of the sprint. However, eventually Scootaloo pulled ahead closing in for the finish. But not before Applebloom could yell her name forcing Scoots to look behind her.
"Scoots!"
"What!" Scootaloo turned around to look for Applebloom, the distraction caused Scootaloo to slow down just enough to be passed by a speeding filly. "Hey, that's not fair!" Applebloom simply stuck out her tongue at her and kept going. In a flash Applebloom had won, with Scootaloo just behind her. "You cheated."
"Did not! You had the choice of looking behind for me, I didn't force you to."
"But you tricked me!" Scootaloo gave in knowing she had lost, but was still annoyed.
"Mmm..." Even though he was deep in thought O was still able to hear the two fillies that happened to run over him. He was losing patience quickly, but he knew that if he destroyed them he would most likely be destroyed himself. And the last thing he wanted was to be running about making himself known to everything that existed in this little town. Applejack was the exception though, he needed a companion to help him along. But only part of the way. "When I return to full power, then I can start. But until then..." He was still contemplating on whether or not to start immediately or bide his time and watch for the perfect opportunity.
"That's not fair! You cheated!"
"Did not!"
"Oh boy." Surprisingly being stuck in a gem for a couple millennia did not help with O's patience problem. He was quick to annoy, and had an even shorter cord for his anger. And these two fillies were not helping with this factor.
"I'll give you this one Applebloom. But next time it is on." Scootaloo was still talking when she stepped near the third post near the entrance. "Hey, do you think Sweetie Belle would..." 'POP' The sudden noise caused both Applebloom and Scootaloo to jump in shock. As they whirled around trying to figure out what made the sudden intrusion, the amber was already long gone and out of sight.
"What was that?!"
"Ah don't know Scoots, let's just go get Sweetie Belle." Both of the fillies started walking away, but eventually ended up bolting down the road out of pure childish fear of the unknown.
"Never was the biggest fan for children. Maybe Applejack will have more questions soon..." Once again the menace named boredom was taking a hold of him.
Twilight's Library
Knock Knock
Looking up from her coffee, Twilight was hesitant in wanting to get the door. But that's what an assistant is for right? "Spike would you mind?" Twilight rose slowly out of her spot, finding it annoying that she was still so very tired.
"Yeah hold on." Spike hurried for the door, hoping he could get back to his stuff quickly, "Oh hey Applejack, uh what brings you here. It's not even lunch yet."
"Yeah well ah need to talk t'Twilight right quick."
"Come on in Applejack, I'm just having trouble getting up." Hearing that Applejack was at the door made Twilight glad. Having something to talk about was just the thing she needed to get her mind prepared for the day ahead of her. "Applejack? Is everything alright?" Twilight could tell something was troubling her friend, which in turn troubled her.
"Yeah everything is going perfectly." Applejack smiled, hopefully Twilight wouldn't question her to much. "Actually ah was hoping if you had a certain book."
"Certainly! What's the title?"
"I think it was Revertere...or something like that."
"Revertere? Why would you want a book like that?"
"Oh ah just heard someponies talking about it and thought it sounded interesting." She threw in a small smile to ensure that Twilight (hopefully) believed her.
"Well alright let me look around for it, hold on." As Twilight went through her collection, Applejack couldn't help but start thinking what O meant by sending her to find some book. Couldn't he just tell her himself? "Found it Applejack!" Sure enough Twilight came over holding a...book? If you could call it that. It seemed to be older than possible. The pages were yellow with age, and the cover was practically falling off. "Please be careful with it, its fragile."
"Oh I can tell." Taking the book carefully, Applejack took a seat in the corner of the library to read. She did not want to risk the book getting destroyed on the walk home.
Revertere
Celestia had control over the sun. Luna the moon. These two sisters were meant to keep the balance of night and day, as their parents before them, to preserve harmony.
Discord was the God of Chaos. Most found him unsavory, and hated the things he did. His acts of disharmony were directly against the two sisters. And so they fought to keep each other at bay.
However this was not always the case.
A short time before Celestia and Luna came into power, there was another monarch. Some loved his acts, while others thought he was not needed. But, he was always needed whether they wanted it or not. His name was Ordinis. And his job was to be the God of Order. This meant that the God of Chaos at the time was a very serious threat to him. And he was a threat to Chaos. They fought bitterly for many centuries. However due to the balance of all things neither of them could every gain the upper-hand. Until one fateful day that would shake the foundations of Equestria to its very core. Chaos was preparing for another grand assault on Ordinis, but he also knew that without help, the fight would hit a standstill once again. So to prevent this from happening he brought an extra card to the table. This being something Ordinis held very close to his heart. A God did have feelings for many things, but it was a rare case indeed when there was a bond such as one that Ordinis had with...
"What the hay? Twi come here for a sec."
"What is it?"
"There's a missing entry in this book, did you know about it?"
"Ah yes, you see no-pony knows what the entry was or was supposed to be. It could have been written like that on purpose. Even Celestia has no idea what would be there. I wouldn't fret about it though. It is still a very good story." Applejack merely shrugged and continued.
...Chaos knew about this bond, and decided to take full advantage over it. He told Ordinis that if he fought back, she would simply die. Ordinis knew that if he saved her, he would be turning his back on his duties as a God. He grew extremely disturbed over this decision, and did not give an answer for four days. When the fifth day came so did his reply. But before he could give it, Chaos had already determined what he wanted to do. As Ordinis approached Chaos, he felt something was very wrong. And he was right.
Before any compromise could be given, Chaos had already killed her. And had hung her body in a spot easily seen by Ordinis. Chaos planned that with the death of his beloved, Ordinis would not have the will to go on and simply crumble beneath him. He had no idea how wrong he was. At the sight of... hanging, Ordinis first felt utter grief, loneliness, and regret. Kneeling in front of Chaos with a feeling of defeat, Chaos took his chance to strike. Ordinis was thrown out of the room and landed in a mountain roughly seven miles away. At the impact Ordinis was knocked out momentarily, and Chaos went around to cause disharmony everywhere. But the God of Order was not defeated. Instead of the results that Chaos wanted, something very different happened. Ordinis woke up from his daze and saw the destruction caused by his enemy. Remembering the pain from his loss and the pain of watching Chaos running amok pushed Ordinis over the edge. His anger boiled over with such immense power that when he approached Chaos there was said to be a feeling of utter horror when one looked at the God of Order. That day Order was no more. He overwhelmed Chaos with his fury and won the day in his favor, killing the God of Chaos in the process. When the world saw this Ordinis transformed and was no longer the God they all knew, but instead he was a vicious death dealer that killed without remorse for his cause.
After Celestia and Luna had become the new monarchs with Discord as the new God of Chaos, they rose up against Ordinis. To say that they won that day would be a dramatic overstatement. Discord nearly died from this, and both Celestia and Luna suffered great injuries. Knowing they could not kill him, as it was not within their power, they trapped him in an everlasting prison. Something they hoped would keep him tied down until the day came they were confident they could strike him down. Now the world sits and waits, for the day the God of Order will return. With a vengeance, and a thirst for devastation.
Closing the book, Applejack called Twilight over to her. "So basically this story describes how the God of Order was pushed to the point where even he turned to disharmony?"
"Well yes and no Applejack. Yes Ordinis was pushed to a point and was now a lunatic with no feeling for anything. But he did not turn to disharmony. He was still the God of Order, he just carried out his duties in a very chaotic fashion. In a way he took both the role of Chaos and Order at the same time. He did things to keep order and balance, but did them in a way that Chaos would."
"That's mighty sad."
"Yes it is Applejack. It's a very sad story."
"By any chance do ya have a guess at the thing he held dear? He must have loved her very much to have gone to such extremes."
"No I don't. However I did read somewhere that her bloodline still lives. But it gave no hints at who is connected to her now."
"I see. Well thank you for helping me out Twi, goodbye!"
"No problem Applejack, see you around."
The hole in the ground was never covered up. O stared at it with great interest. Teleporting over into it, he was surprised to find nothing was there. "Well that's odd, I could have sworn it would have been with me." Looking around harder he scanned the surrounding area quickly in fear. "Where is it...where is it. Damn it's not here! Curse you Celestia, Luna! I swear if you have hidden it from me you will be sorry you ever crossed my path!"
Celestia twitched as a sudden shiver came upon her. Surely nothing was wrong, there has been peace for a while with no major threats with Discord in safe hooves. Nevertheless she excused herself from the court to go to her room to check on something. When she arrived, she went to her bookcase, and leaned a book out of its spot to reveal a staircase with an immense power within. Heading down the stairs she reached a room with a large glass container in the center. Inside the container was a body of light that resembled electricity. It had not moved for several millenia, and was a great concern to her and her sister. After staring at it for awhile she turned around to head back out. A few moments passed, then the light start to pulse. Sending out a beacon to its owner. The time had arrived for it to return.
As Celestia walked through the halls of the palace, a nagging feeling tempted her to question Luna if she had experienced anything odd of late. She shook it off and continued on. "If she wanted to tell me something, she would." When she reached her room, she instantly stared at her bookcase in surprise. There was a faint light emitting from the section covering the hidden passage leading to... "NO!" Rushing over, she yanked the book out of its place, raced down the stairs, and was soon greeted by a slightly pulsing light. "This can't be happening. I have to warn Luna and the girls." She hastily put a quick barrier around the container then rushed out to find Luna.
"Why do we keep losing then finding this stupid thing." Scootaloo was keenly looking at a large amber that she put in the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. "It's like its playing a game with us."
"A gem can't play a game Scoot." Sweetie Belle was confused over the situation as well but refused to think the gem could act on its own. "Besides shouldn't we bring it back to Rarity now? We found it so..."
"NOOOO!" O was not happy with that. He knew that if a unicorn was near him for too long they would start to sense him. Which was the last thing he wanted right now. Thankfully this small filly was the exception; she was far to young. "I need to find a way out of this, let's see here..."
"Um Sweetie Belle? You feeling what I'm feeling?"
"I don't know! Wait what?" Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were both suddenly in contact with the strange amber. Neither of them could explain it, but it happened.
"Please go away?" At the sound of a voice in both of their heads they hesitated. Then ran out of the clubhouse as fast as possible.
"Could have gone better, but at least I can leave now." O teleported himself outside to explore the farm a bit more, but then decided against it. Instead he went to go find Applejack, there was something he needed answered.
Twilight's Library
"Uh Twi?" Spike was hesitant as Twilight told him very clearly that she was busy and not to be disturbed. But this was urgent so he decided why not.
"Spike I told you that I am busy! What could be so important you just had to interrupt me?"
"Well, there is the letter I got from the princess."
"WHAT?! Why didn't you say so?" Rushing over to him, Twilight grabbed the scroll from Spike's hand with her magic and begun to read.
"I think I just did..." Spike started to leave the room knowing it was best to let her read in silence. But before he reached the door, Twilight stopped him.
"Spike I need you to go get Rarity and Fluttershy. I'll go get Rainbow Dash and Applejack."
"Uh why?"
"It's a direct order from the princess, please just go do this. It's very urgent, and tell them to meet me at the train station."
"Alright alright." Twilight rushed out to go find her two friends while Spike walked over to Rarity's. He couldn't help but wonder what Celestia could have told her that made her so frantic. Surely nothing bad was happening, Discord had reformed and the changelings had been dealt with. Maybe it was nothing, hopefully.
Sweet Apple Acres
O was still searching for Applejack while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo bumped into Applebloom. "Watch where your going! Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? What are you two doing running around all crazy."
"Applebloom! We found that gem thing in the clubhouse then we felt all strange and stuff then we were somehow touching it for some reason THEN it started to talk to us in our heads so we ran out of there as fast as we could to find somepony to tell and we bumped into you so we told you!" All through Scootaloo's rant Sweetie Belle was acting it out just next to her.
"Sorry, didn't catch any of that. Ya'll mind repeating?"
"Ugh, ok so we find that gem in the clubhouse..."
Across the farm in the house, Applejack was sitting in her room trying to contemplate what she read this morning at Twilight's. If O was telling her the truth and the book was accurate, then either O was Ordinis or something from that era of time. "Oh, how am I suppose to deal with this?!" Applejack plopped her head into her hooves in despair from the current situation. POP."So, about that favor I asked of you before."
"Don't sneak up on me like that! Give me a warning first at least."
"Well I'm sorry if I...wait how would I warn you first? It's teleporting! Besides I need you to get me to Canterlot."
"Canterlot?" Now Applejack was really concerned. What if he really was Ordinis? What if he still wanted revenge? If he came face to face with Celestia how would that play out? "Why would you want to go there?"
"There is someone I must contact there. If she exists that is. Can you do this for me?"
"Well..." There was a short pause in her voice. What should she do? There was no way she would forgive herself if she was responsible for a massacre that could occur. But on the other hoof, what would he do if she refused? "Ah can let you know if it's possible, but ah don't see myself going anytime soon. So you'll have to be patient."
"Fair enough. If the opportunity arises, simply tap your window frame three times in slow succession. I'll know." And with that O vanished from the room, leaving Applejack alone with her thoughts once more.
'Knock-Knock' Applejack paused from eating to stare at the door in amusement. She had just come down to have a snack only to be interrupted. Slowly she got up and trotted over to the door, and pulled it open right quick. "WHAT?! Twi, Rainbow?" Twilight was looking very serious while Rainbow Dash was half confused half excited.
"Applejack I need you to come with us right now. The Princess has ordered us to report to her immediately."
"The princess? Why?" At hearing this Applejack freaked. Did Twilight or Celestia know that she was talking to O? If so how? "What about Fluttershy and Rarity?"
"I sent Spike to get them both, they will meet us at the train station. Now come on, I do not want to keep the princess waiting on us." Just as Twilight finished Applejack freaked out some more. Should I go get O? I did tell him I'd let him know. Oh how did I get myself involved in such a crazy mess?
"Can you just let me do something real quick? I'll be right back!" Applejack ran up the stairs to her room before Twilight could respond. There, she came up to the window and tapped the frame three times. Slowly. Sure enough there was a pop and O was there on the sill.
"You called?"
"If you want to go I'm leaving now"
"Now? As in NOW now?"
"Yes! Do you want to come or not?"
"Of course! I cannot thank you enough for this. But where will I, well, be?"
Applejack quickly ran over to the other side of the room to grab her saddle bags, and slung them on. "Get in one of the pouches." She could almost hear the sigh coming from him. After he was secured in her bag, she rushed back downstairs, also getting her snack, and trotted past Twilight. "Ready! Let's go." There was a quick look of annoyance from Twilight but it quickly subsided. In around seven minutes, all six of them were ready at the train.
"Thank you Spike, I'll be back soon." Twilight hugged her assistant, then boarded with her friends. As the train started to depart, Spike waved a farewell at them before heading back home. On the train, Twilight's friends were very anxious to find out why she had called them all together. Everypony wanted to know why Celestia had called them on such short notice. "Well girls Celestia did not really put an explanation into her letter. All she said was that we must come to the castle to discuss a matter of great importance with her." It was obvious that this did not help settle their moods, so Twilight sighed and decided to try and piece together what could possibly be wrong in her mind. Meanwhile off in another booth, Applejack was sitting alone trying to figure out if bringing O was the best idea, or the worst. Well it was too late for regrets, and they were on their way.
Some couple hours later
As the six mares walked up to the throne, they all noticed that Celestia was both angry and worried. Twilight was the first to speak (which was odd). "Princess. May I ask why you have called us here?"
"My dear Twilight, I have some very important news for all of you but for right now I just need you all to go find your rooms and rest. I will reveal all in the morning." Once Celestia finished, she nodded towards a guard who then went over to the Elements to lead them to their rooms. All of the girls were instantly confused by Celestia's remark, but made no attempt to argue. Once everypony was settled in, Celestia went to Luna's room to tell her it was her shift now, then went to her own room for some rest.
After some time had passed, Applejack was sound asleep. But O was far from tired. He was so excited that his magic was close to bursting randomly. Very calmly, he sent a tiny beacon off to the far end of the castle, then started making his way very discretely over to Celestia's room.
When he got there he found it empty, just as planned. He quickly searched it using very discrete magic and soon was facing the bookshelf at the far end of the room. O could sense what he was after was past it. Teleporting onto the other side, he made his way down the staircase that was beyond. When he reached the bottom, he was staring straight at a glass container, with a body of light in the center. Mentally grinning, he used what power he had left encased in his gem prison to pierce the glass walls. The moment his magic made a hole the body of light burst through, slamming into him. As it pulsed it morphed turning into an actual body, disintegrating the amber in the process. His old power swelling up inside him, O rose in his new (or old) form, to his feet. He resembled a bi-pod with black eyes and mouth. He was completely white with an aura of blue electricity occasionally arcing around his body. As O opened his eyes and took a deep breath, he smiled for the first time in three millennia.
Celestia had just dismissed Twilight and her friends to their rooms. She wanted them to be well rested and have calm minds for what she was preparing to tell them. At first they were all reluctant to wait for her explanation, but eventually agreed and departed. Celestia was coming back from Luna's room after telling her it was her shift, and headed to her own room for some sleep herself.
Thirty-Minutes prior to Event
Celestia sprang out of bed with a look of shock on her face. She had just sensed a familiar magic coming from the North Wing. This was not a good sign. Running out of her room, she quickly scanned the hallway, then started running in the direction the beacon was coming from. She knew what it might be but she could not take the chance. On her way to the North Wing,she bumped into five guards, whom she ordered to watch her bedroom door and not let anything in until she gave the OK. As she kept running there was only one thought on her mind. How did he get here...
The Event
Applejack woke with a start. Normally she didn't wake up in the middle of the night, but having that annoying blue light cover her room was bugging her. Wait...blue light? Slowly turning her head to face the corner of the room it was originating from, her eyes widened with shock. A glowing... entity was sitting on the couch in the far corner watching her with pitch black eyes. He blinked once, then smiled at her. When he blinked it seemed like his eyes were simply enveloped by light, then reappeared.
"Glad you are awake. I came to simply say thank you." Its voice sounded regal and demanding, but calm. Just from the tone Applejack could tell it meant no harm. "I will guess from your expression that I do not sound familiar, but that is to be expected." Applejack slowly closed her gaping mouth and responded slowly.
"What are you?" She said this in a soft tone, almost making it rhetorical.
"Ah my dear the question you should be asking is who am I." Applejack made no response so it continued. "Well let me formally introduce myself. My name is Ordinis, or to you simply O." At the mention of O Applejack came to her senses, and got quite annoyed.
"O?!" Applejack yelled as she approached him. "Whatever happened to that stone of yours? Ya find what you were looking for? How 'bout that pony ya wanted to talk to? Know what, ah don't wanna hear it! Leave, ah have had enough of this!" Applejack was furious by this point. Not only had O (or Ordinis now) lied to her, but she saw it coming and hoped that it was not true.
"Now hold on! I came here to talk," Now Ordinis was getting mad, "even thank you for your help, and all you do is throw it in my face?!" Ordinis was not angry, just upset. In a sad way. After a very long time of being hated and avoided, he tries to repent with this small act of kindness. But instead it turns around to smack him in the face. "If you've read that book I told you about then you know of my past, and what I've been through! I always thought of that period of my life as a terrible happening that I can't ever redeem myself from." Applejack held her ground, as she still hadn't sensed any hostility, but was getting worried. "But you know what? I realize now that no matter what I do my past will always be there to haunt me. After all it's what you all remember me for!" Now Applejack was worried about her friends hearing the ruckus. But by this point Ordinis was yelling very loudly, so there was no doubt that somepony would come soon. "I can be the bad guy! I have proven this very well! For the Element of Honesty you seem to find it quite hard to be understanding!"
A beam of yellow light burst through the door hitting Ordinis square in the chest, sending him flying through the wall and farther. Applejack stared at the doorway in surprise at the sudden intrusion, but soon was relieved at seeing Celestia standing there. "Did he hurt you Applejack?" Celestia was very concerned about her, but knew that that blast she threw at Ordinis would not keep him down for long.
"No! We were simply talking and you interrupted us!" Applejack was half glad that Celestia came before Ordinis got out of hand, but she also wished she had given him a piece of her mind. At her response Celestia was taken back a bit. But before anything else could be said. POP
"That was very rude Celestia, interrupting us like that." Ordinis had his arms crossed behind his back to show his non-hostility. However Celestia still took up a defensive stance. "But I suppose it cannot be helped. After all it is partly my fault we are in this mess to begin with."
"Partly?" Celestia's response was sudden, showing her annoyance. As she spoke, the other five Elements came into the room after hearing the initial bang. All of them surprised at the fact that Celestia was arguing with the strange being in the middle of Applejacks room. With Applejack joining into the fray.
"Yes partly. I never once considered myself a major threat to the balance, and if I did I would fix that error. Even if that meant terminating myself. You made a rash decision, which I am still not over."
"It has been three millennia Ordinis, you should get over it. And what we did was not rash, we acted on behalf of the community. Ponies, griffons, even Discord knew you were going to far."
"To far?!" Ordinis was getting angry now, "I'm not the one who sent you into a freaking gem-prison! And what seemed like three-thousand years to you, went very quick for me! Maybe I should imprison your soul, throw into a stick or something, then you'll know what I went through!"
"You know O, imprisoning the princess wouldn't accomplish anything! Ya need to calm down so we can talk without getting nasty." Applejack stepped up hoping she could calm him down, but it did not work.
"You're one to talk. Right before Celestia here blew me through a wall you were ready to beat me into the ground." Ordinis's words made Applejack flinch. She knew this to be true, but had a good reason behind it.
"Only because you were lying to me, and taking advantage of my kindness!"
"I only lied once, when you asked what I was. I knew exactly what had happened to me, I just felt it was not an appropriate time to tell you I was a god yet."
"So who's this certain somepony you need to talk to then, Celestia?!" As Applejack spoke she got closer to Ordinis, all the while Celestia was keeping her distance. Watching at how this would play out. At the mention of Ordinis wanting to meet somepony in particular her thoughts went crazy, if she guessed right she knew exactly who Ordinis wanted to see.
"I doubt you'd be able to find her Ordinis." As Celestia jumped into the conversation Ordinis got very rigid. "And besides, what makes you'd think I would let you leave here willingly?"
"Whoever said that must be very stupid indeed." At this Ordinis unfolded his arms, and strode over to Celestia. As he did so, the Elements got in front of Celestia. Acting as a wall between her and Ordinis. "That was not a smart move young ones."
"We won't let you hurt her." Twilight spoke up as she charged her horn for a spell. However, before she could finish Ordinis was besides her.
"I doubt you can keep that statement true." Ordinis grabbed Twilight by her mane, and followed with throwing her out the hole Celestia blew him through earlier.
"Twi!" Rainbow Dash raced out to catch her, by which Ordinis made no attempt to stop. Instead he continued towards Celestia. Before he could get closer enough for a hit Celestia put up a shield around her and the remaining four girls, with Rarity helping to reinforce it. Ordinis pounded at it with one fist, making it crack on the first blow. It took him five hits to get through. On the fifth hit, he smacked aside both Rarity and Pinkie Pie at once. Then following to sprint by Fluttershy and Applejack to get at Celestia. Before anypony could react he touched her, and both teleported. Leaving only a destroyed guest room, with two of the Elements of Harmony behind to stare in horror.
"Celestia!" Applejack and Fluttershy stared in horror at the spot where she and Ordinis just were. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both recovering from the blow they received. While Rainbow Dash was just now bringing Twilight back up. When they landed, Twilight looked around in shock when she failed to find Celestia.
"Applejack? Fluttershy...where is the princess?" She asked nervously. Afraid of the response she would receive, Twilight was almost not listening to their answer.
"Well...' Applejack started, 'the princess put up a shield, but he broke through it and well...teleported both him and her somewhere." Twilight collapsed to the ground, unable to handle the pressure that the current event was putting on her. Very slowly, she started to drift into despair.
Celestia stood up, but stopped halfway to recover from the daze she was in. Ordinis was a ways to her right, sitting on a log. They were both in the middle of a forest. One that Celestia did not recognize. Nearby was a stone building that was obviously very old. Celestia failed at hiding her shock at not knowing where they were. As she had memorized her kingdom, and this forest was not a part of it.
"Now we can talk without those pesky interruptions." Ordinis got up from his spot, and started to slowly make his way over to Celestia. "You should know better than anyone else Celestia. It is now, and always will be my job to keep the balance."
"You were doing a great job of that. Until you fell to disharmony."
"I did no such thing. I simply changed my methods out of grief and anger."
"You may not see it like the rest of us, but that's how it happened. You turned from the perfect role-model, into a monster that did all the good things in a bad way." Celestia spat back at him. She was getting fed up with his excuses and claims of "keeping the balance". If she was forced to put an end to this, she would do so gladly. "Now, return us to Canterlot. If you truly want to talk one on one, we can do so there."
"Oh Celestia, is it possible you do not realize where we are? I'm surprised! Come, I'm just itching to check inside." Ordinis casually walked up to the stone building, beckoning Celestia to follow. Reluctant, Celestia followed. But kept her guard up. Once they were both inside Ordinis walked up to the middle of the room, and knelt down. Celestia was close behind him, but maintained a distance between them. As she looked around, taking into account the surroundings, there was a throne at the far end of the room. Along with a tree at the far right, with a light scar around one of its limbs. Showing that something was tied there some time ago. "You know, it has been a very long time since I was last here. But the scars still ache at the memory's. Has that ever happened to you? Getting a wound so deep it seems to disappear, but you are reminded of it every day of your life. To spare you the embarrassment of asking, this is where it all started. This is where Chaos took everything from me."
Celestia knew the building was familiar to her in some aspect, but to now know that this was the domain of Chaos itself. Just the idea of standing there made her nervous. "What's your reasoning Ordinis? Why bring me here. To show me something?"
"Yes actually. You see the tree over there? The scar on that limb was made from the rope that hung my beloved. That was over three millennia ago, so why is it that that tree never healed? Is it mimicking my grief? Or is it that Chaos made it like that, as an eternal reminder of my defeat."
"But you didn't lose, you beat Chaos and won the day!"
"You are wrong my dear princess. I may have defeated Chaos, but it was no victory. By doing so I had disrupted the balance I swore to protect, and had to take up both mantles of Order and Chaos. You will never know the burden that puts on oneself." Ordinis stood up to face Celestia. She was left speechless at him revealing what he truly felt during those harsh times. "I will bring us back, but I will not tolerate anymore violence. If you, Luna, or any other tries to disrupt my mission, I will oppose them." Ordinis held out his hand, summoning a sphere of light. It expanded engulfing both him and Celestia, taking them both back to the spot where they left.
At arriving back in Canterlot, the Elements were gathered around the spot hoping for their princess's return. When she suddenly appeared in front of them seemingly unharmed, they were overjoyed. All except Applejack. Who was glaring angrily at Ordinis.
"I'm still not happy with you. Taking advantage of me like that."
"I am sincerely sorry for that, but would you have helped me if I told you I was the entity that controlled order, and was searching for my body which was hidden by Celestia?"
"Mmm, good point. But it still doesn't make me alright with it." Applejack backed off a little, but was still giving him a harsh look.
"Not wanting to seem rude or anything, but how do you two know each other!?" Twilight was very confused at the thought of her friend Applejack knowing such a dangerous being. Let alone being so forward with it. Ordinis paid her no mind, choosing instead to walk towards the door at a brisk pace.
"Where are you going?" Ordinis turned around mid stride to find an annoyed Celestia staring at him.
"I thought I might go for a stroll, and possibly get some cake. I am quite hungry. Cake is still around right?" Ordinis continued towards the door, and upon opening it found himself staring at Luna. The mane six, along with Celestia, froze in the background dreading what was to come. Luna simply gasped and hopped back, following with a blast of magic aimed at Ordinis. "Well who could have seen that one coming."
Once again, Ordinis was blasted through a wall. But this time, just through one. He didn't bother getting up, instead he just lay there enjoying the view of a ceiling. "Luna! Don't attack him!" Celestia screamed at her sister. The last thing she wanted was for Ordinis to get infuriated and go on a rampage. Luna was left speechless. Her attack was pure impulse, but she subsided her magic.
"I try and try, but it seems I am doomed to be hated." Everypony turned towards where Ordinis was now standing. His body spewed out electricity, charring the floor below him. At this both Luna and Celestia jumped in front, ready for a fight. "Does it not seem to you two that I am trying to correct myself? Celestia?" There was anger in his voice, no longer was he passive. If they wanted to treat him as a threat, he was glad to return the gesture. Without waiting for an answer, Ordinis made his way over to them. Luna however, was one step ahead of him. She flew straight into him, crashing him through the wall behind them, and continuing until they both were outside. They landed in the back of the castle on a large landing. Luna planned on carrying him even farther, but he was able to pull down on her wing, forcing a landing.
Ordinis phased away from Luna to gain some distance, and raised his hand. Luna spun her head to search for her opponent, but only saw a beam of light coming straight at her. Without getting up, she pushed down with her legs in an attempt to catapult herself into a leap away from the blast. Just able to dodge the attack, Luna paused to stare at Ordinis. His hand was smoking, and he made no attempt to continue his attack.
"We don't have to do this Luna!" Ordinis yelled over to her, "We can always just put this behind us and stop this. It would hurt me more if I am forced to push you aside."
"I'm not the inexperienced princess from before. And I'm sorry to say that we cannot take the chance of letting you roam." Luna once again took up a combat stance. Ordinis sighed, now knowing that it was hopeless to negotiate.
"And it has also been a very long time..." Ordinis phased behind Luna, "...since you have been in a real fight, has it not?" Luna gasped at his speed, and had no chance of dodging the next attack. Ordinis grabbed her by the neck bringing her up into the air, then slammed her into the concrete ground. Luna coughed blood, the force of the impact causing slight internal bleeding. "You see Princess," Ordinis backed away, dragging her with him, "I have been fighting my whole life...my mistake. Most of my life, seeing how I spent three millennia stuck in the ground." Luna made a desperate attempt to blast a bolt of magic at his head, but Ordinis dodged it quickly. And flung her off the side of the castle.
"I doubt you will die from a fall like this, but I've been wrong before." Spinning on his heel, he made his way back into the castle.
Meanwhile...
"We need to help her!" Twilight ran up to the hole to give chase, but was stopped short by Celestia.
"No my dear Twilight, Luna can give us some time. You must get your elements, and hopefully right him. Did you bring them with you?" On the outside, Celestia was very serious. But on the inside she was extremely worried for her sister. Who knew how long it would be before Ordinis made his way back here?
"You didn't say so in your letter so I didn't think..."
"That's quite alright. I placed a fail-safe spell on them just in case." Charging up her horn, Celestia pointed it at what was remaining of a table. A beam of light hit the table, forming a box. When the spell ended a box was sitting on the table, with the six elements inside. "Now, quickly put them on. We need to stop this, and then I will explain all of it."
Once they had on their elements, they made their way outside to join Luna. Halfway however, they saw Ordinis walking their way. "Where is Luna?" Celestia yelled at him. All seven of them now facing him.
"I believe she is falling off the side of the castle, but she has wings. She should be just fine." Ordinis was not even sure of the statement himself. But that didn't matter, right now he was looking at the six elements in front of him. "So you plan on using the Elements of Harmony on me? Very interesting."
Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack stood in a line in front of Celestia. One by one their elements glowed. Rising up into formation, a beam came from each element, coming together to form one single blast. Ordinis made no attempt to dodge or block, as he knew he had no chance of doing either. He simply crossed his arms and waiting. Even smirking at the prospect of what was to come. The blast came down to wash over him like a wave of water. He raised his arms to block his face and made no noise. A small explosion erupted from the spot the beam hit the floor, causing smoke to billow everywhere. Celestia used her magic to clear it quickly, to find Ordinis face down on the ground. Motionless.
Celestia stared down at the smoking body of Ordinis with a blank look upon her face. It was done, the Elements of Harmony obviously saw Ordinis as a threat...right? Even though she was staring at the results, she still had an ominous feeling in her stomach. She then started to run down the passage to the landing where Luna fought with him. Twilight stayed behind with her friends to "clean up". When she got outside there was no sign of her sister. The one thing that caught her eye was the crater on her left, with a little blood spattered in it. Rushing to the edge of the castle, Celestia looking around trying to find a sign that Luna was okay. Directly below her, they was a small balcony some thirty-feet down. Luna had landed right on it and was fine, but unconscious. There were two ponies with her, trying to regain her consciousness. Celestia sighed with relief knowing her sister was fine. Heading back inside to thank the girls, and explain everything, she arrived at the scene of all them unconscious, with Ordinis nowhere to be seen. Rushing over to Twilight, she used a quick healing spell to wake her up.
"Wha...Celestia! I'm so sorry, Ordinis was faking and attacked as soon as you left." Twilight hung her head in shame, but she knew that it was not her fault.
"That's alright Twilight, help your friends out, when everypony is up and fine I will explain this mess." Celestia then went over to Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and woke them up too. While Twilight got Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Celestia turned towards Twilight after making sure everypony was alright, but stopped herself when she saw that Twilight was freaking out. "Twilight, what's the matter? I know that Ordinis can seem quite horrible but you shouldn't get this worked up over it."
"It's not that princess. Where's Rarity?!"
Ordinis settled down after the voices faded away overhead. When he was sure the coast was clear, he continued on towards his goal. A cliff that he saw from a mile back. As he came out from underneath the bridge he was hiding under, he sighed with regret. He didn't plan to bring the unicorn with him, but if he wanted to continue his search for the pony he was looking for, he needed help. He planned on getting to the cliff an hour before sunset, and get some rest. As he walked, he looked down at the pony in his arms, and was thinking about bringing her back. "What a stupid idea, even if I brought her back they wouldn't let me go."
Within a half-hour, he reached the edge of the cliff. Setting down the unicorn near a tree, he looked over the edge. Satisfied that there were no ledges, he levitated himself down fifty feet. Placing his hand against the stone, he sent a wave of energy out, carving out a very large piece. He removed the piece, and placed it at the bottom of the cliff. Ordinis did not want to throw it, in fear of attracting unwanted attention. Going back up to the hole, he smiled at himself. He had carved out a nice little room into the side of the cliff, invisible from above. Going back up to the top, he picked the unicorn back up (she still being unconscious) and placed her inside the room. "Well we can't simply sleep on the ground. Well I can, but if I am to make her trust me I need to be considerate." Ordinis decided to go get some things as fast as possible, even though he risked being found. Using his magic, he located a nearby town, and started to quick-phase towards it.
When Ordinis was just outside the edge of town, he transformed himself into a pony to help conceal himself. When the spell completed, he looked at himself in a puddle. Frowning with sadness, he walked slowly towards the town. It had been a very long time since he had seen himself in this form. A light blue coat, and a short white mane. Just as he remembered it. He rushed to find a store that sold blankets and sleeping bags, then purchased some food. Normally he would be against the idea of manifesting money (as it was against his code), but this was a dire time.
"Twenty bits please."
"This enough?"
"Yes, enjoy your day!"
"Thank you." Ordinis turned towards the door, but was stopped by the pony behind the counter.
"Hey sorry if I sound rude, but that's a strange cutie mark you got there."
"My cutie mark?" Ordinis freaked, he had completely forgot about that. Taking a quick stare at his flank, he was surprised to find the same mark as the last time he used this spell. Usually it changed every now and then accordingly to how he changed as a being. Nevertheless, it was still an O that was aflame with white fire. "It means I like to keep the peace, or order as it were."
"Well that's a nice talent." The pony shot him a smile, which Ordinis returned. As he started back to the cave, he wondered what would happen if she woke up before he got back. Probably just freak out a little, but he hurried just in case.
At the cave he got the unicorn into a sleeping bag (with magic). Then got himself into the other one. The moon was already up, and he was tired. As Ordinis drifted off into sleep he couldn't help but wonder how much the world has really changed.
Rarity woke up to a rock ceiling above her. For several seconds she simply did nothing but stare, then go wide-eye'd, then start to freak out. She crawled out of the sleeping bag she was apparently in and took in her surroundings. The most noticeable thing was that she was in a hole in the side of a cliff. Also that she was with some random pony, who was sleeping across from her. As Rarity stared at the sleeping pony she started to have some conflicting thoughts. She was a proper and polite lady, but did not want to wait for him to wake up to get some answers. So, very softly, she went over to him and started to poke him with her hoof in an attempt to wake him up. After more than a couple pokes, he raised his head (still seemingly tired).
"I'm terribly sorry for having to wake you," the pony still staring at her, "but I wanted to know where I am now. You do know, right?"
At that moment Ordinis's brain started to go into overdrive. He had forgotten about the transformation spell, and fell asleep without cancelling it. And now he had to make a decision in only a couple seconds. Should he tell her, or be secretive like before. Last time he held back the truth trouble came rushing in, and the results were...well you know.
"Well for starters," he began while rising, "you're in the side of a cliff. And I am in need of your help." Ordinis stretched a bit, then headed over to one of the bags he loaded with food. As he began breakfast, Rarity hesitated, then joined him.
"Where did all of these supplies come from?"
"I bought them from a nearby town." Ordinis was prepared to start shoveling his food, but quickly remembered something. "Well, before I do anything else I suppose I should ask you your name shouldn't I?"
"It's Rarity since you're asking. And yours?"
"I believe you already know the answer to that. Want some breakfast?" Rarity nodded while she thought about his comment. It took a little longer than expected, but she was able to connect the dots. The moment Ordinis caught the look of shock upon her face he backed up to give her room. "Now I can explain."
"Explain what?! What do you want from me? Think you can get me to not use my element on you? Well that won't work I assure you. Speaking of which, how did you resist the Elements?!" Rarity spat out in quick succession.
"One question at a time. But before that, I am hungry." Ordinis went back to his breakfast without another word. Rarity simply waited for him to finish, not wanting to be distracted by anything else. "Are you really going to wait for me? You should eat something yourself, either way you have a long hike ahead of you." Rarity said and did nothing in response. Ordinis shrugged and went back to his eating.
When he finished, he zapped the plate clean, and looked at Rarity ready for questions. "Well, ask away." Rarity gave a slight pause before her answer.
"How are you still standing?"
"Well let me explain how your elements truly work. When somepony or something gets hit by them, the elements judge whether or not the thing in question is good or bad. If it's good, the elements will help it. Normally by healing from near-death or something like that. However, if they don't like you and judge you bad...you are either made into stone, or striped of any or all powers. In my case, the elements are still working on me. From what I can tell, they cannot decide whether or not I'm a truly good, or bad, being. So I'm just going through some pain right now." Rarity took some time to analyze what he had just told her, and it made sense in a way. But if the elements couldn't decide if Ordinis was a good or bad thing...was it right of them to attack him?
"OK, well you said previously that you needed my help with something. What is that exactly?"
"Ah yes, well, I simply need your help locating a very special pony. After we find, that is if you help me, this pony you can go at your leisure."
"So what would happen if I refuse?" Rarity said with a questioning look. She thought that he was some kind of brute when she first saw him. But now...he was, in a way, just another sad case.
"I would be disappointed. But I would not stop you from leaving, however if you do choose to leave I cannot bring you back. For reasons you know well."
"Fair enough, and how are you able to use magic? You have no horn, and you just seem to...do it."
"Yes well, since this is simply a transformation spell I made myself have no horn so it would seem I cannot use magic. It helps to conceal myself a little more. Now I would appreciate it if you took some time to think over my request." With that, Ordinis made his way over to edge of the room, staring out over the trees below. He hoped Rarity would take some time to answer, so he knew she was sincere. Looking over his shoulder, he saw her lying down, obviously trying to decide on what to do. Turning away, he stared out into the clouds. Things seemed so peaceful here, but he knew better. Peace was never fully there. Sure there are some periods of time where peace has lasted days, even years at a time. But something always happens to disrupt it. And he knew that the thing disrupting the peace now, was himself. "As soon as I am done with this little mission, I'm going to need an actual vacation."
Turning around to go back inside, he winced from an intense pain in his chest. It only lasted for several seconds, and he knew exactly what had caused it. Ordinis hoped that it would not be long before the Elements made their final decision soon. But not before he found her.
Ordinis was glad that Rarity had decided to join him. It has been quite some time since he's had some company. They were already on their way to Manehattan; their first stop. Normally Ordinis would have avoided any large cities, but he made an exception this time in favor of completing his goal faster. After all, they had no idea what this pony looked like and starting in a city like Manehattan might give them early leads. The risk of being found was still high however. Celestia had no idea what he looked like right now, but Rarity stood out like a sore thumb. So being discrete was the main concern now.
The matter of moving quickly was also a large factor. Ordinis had decided to get to Manehattan as fast as possible, which meant teleporting right there. After a very quick succession of teleports, they arrived right in the middle of Manehattan. Times Square to be exact. This was the last place Ordinis wanted to check. So popping up there first surprised him immensely. Thankfully no pony seemed bothered by two ponies popping up at random.
"I thought you wanted to come here last?" Rarity looked at him questioningly.
"I did." Ordinis was extremely confused. He was positive that they were going to appear somewhere near Times Square. Not actually get there. "I was sure I was aiming past this part." Shrugging, Ordinis went up to a red earth pony to ask where Town Hall was. Returning to Rarity, "May as well make the best of it right? Town Hall's that way, come on."
One hour after Ordinis's escape
"What's wrong sister?" Luna looked at Celestia questioningly. After she had woken up from her daze she immediately went to Celestia only to find out that Ordinis had made his way to who knows where. Now no pony knew where he was. And this was making Celestia very agitated.
"What's wrong? We lost him. Even though he's been stuck in the ground doing nothing for a millennia, he can still beat us with ease."
"Yes. But we were not even fighting with all of our power! Never mind us not even fighting together. He was able to beat us separately, but what if we fought side by side? We even have Discord on our side again."
"Not this time." Celestia turned her head away from Luna, not wanting to make eye contact.
"What?" Luna stared at Celestia in confusion. "Why not?"
"I...sent him away." Luna now stared at her in disbelief. How could Celestia send away Discord in such a situation? "But I only did it out of precaution. Could you imagine what would happen if Ordinis came face to face with Discord at a time like this? Now that we have Discord working for Harmony? He would destroy him. So I sent him away, to which he agreed."
"Well let's just hope Ordinis doesn't find what he's looking for. Who knows what would happen if that came about."
"Don't say such things!" Celestia stared down at Luna. "I don't even want to think of what would happen if that were to come about." Wanting to end the conversation, Celestia walked away from Luna at a brisk pace. Leaving her sister to wonder by herself.
"Welcome to City Hall, may I help you with anything?" The mare looked at the duo excitedly. One could just tell she was desperate to do something.
"Yes actually. Would it be possible for me to look at some family tree's? I'm looking for a relative of a very old friend of mine." Ordinis looked at the mare in interest, hoping to be granted access.
"Well I don't see why not. Although you will need to be escorted at all times. For security reasons."
"Of course."
"Alright, just go down that hallway there and a guard will escort you to the archives. Have a nice day!"
"You too!" Ordinis started down the hallway quite quickly. Rarity could tell he was eager to find this pony he was after. But now hearing it's a relative of an old friend? Just how old of a friend? Just as the accountant said, a guard was waiting to lead them to the archives. Once there Ordinis went straight to work. The archives were quite large, even though it was every family tree in Manehattan. But Ordinis had a way of stemming the tide. He and Rarity only looked at the tree's that were older than a millennia. By sorting them like this, they only had to look at around three hundred tree's.
"So who am I exactly looking for? A specific family name or simply one specific name." Rarity yelled over to Ordinis.
"I would say a family name," Ordinis replied, "But to be safe look for Summer Breeze." Ordinis didn't even look in Rarity's direction as he said the name. He simply kept looking through files.
Both Ordinis and Rarity blew through plenty of files (mostly Ordinis). But neither of them found what they were searching for.
"It's quite alright Ordinis. This is just the first place. There are still many places to check beyond this one." Rarity tried to comfort Ordinis, to some degree.
"I know, but I feel as if we've missed something." Ordinis stared at the floor in disappointment. As they started to leave, Ordinis bumped into a mare that was coming into the archives.
"Oh! I'm terribly sorry, didn't see you there." She put on a smile and kept walking past him. Ordinis stared at her for a moment, then continued outside.
"As much as I would love to continue searching for this certain somepony, I'm very hungry. Mind getting something to eat before we continue?" Rarity looked over at Ordinis expecting an answer. All she got was a shrug, which she took as a yes.
"Yes..." Celestia smiled in satisfaction at her success. Ordinis was underestimating her and did not know the full extent of her abilities now. Yesterday she was not able to sense much of anything, but today there was a large spike of magic in the direction of Manehattan. Now was the time to move.
~~~
While Celestia was trying to find Ordinis, Luna was busy pacing back and forth in her room. Celestia had not wanted her to help in the search, so Luna had taken it upon herself to sit in her room and try to come up with a solution to this mess on her own. What she came up with had a very good chance of success, but was simply insane. However, the more and more she put more thought into it the more it seemed like the only chance they had besides flat out war with Ordinis. All the rapid thinking was making her head hurt, and she had to sit down to calm herself.
"There's no other choice. I'm sorry sister..." Luna said to herself as she opened to the window in her room. Flying out, she headed away from Canterlot in search of the one being that could take on Ordinis one on one, and not want to destroy everything around him in the process. Chaos.
Only an hour or two had passed since Luna had left Canterlot. She was already, however, nearing her destination; the tomb of Chaos. Thankfully, Celestia knew nothing about the fact that Chaos was still around. So if she happened to be followed, Luna was fairly certain she could come up with an excuse for her being out and about. As she drew closer to the tomb, her mind started to wander back to when she had first seen Chaos.
It was a long time ago, when she was with Celestia and Discord in their search for Ordinis. She was looking by herself when she came upon him. At first glance it seemed to be Ordinis, but something was very different about this being. Instead of the white body, it was black. With a red aura replacing the blue one. It was standing in the middle of a glade, doing nothing. Luna was hovering just above the treetops watching it, waiting for some it to perform some action. But it never came. After a couple minutes of waiting, she gathered enough courage to float down it it. But upon landing the being turned to look at her. It's eyes bright, seemingly made of fire. Later, Luna decided that they were indeed eyes of fire. And it then pointed to Luna's left saying, "You will find your goal awaiting you there." It's voice deep and menacing, but compelling.
It then vanished. Almost like how steam disappears from boiling water. Luna, at first skeptical, took a moment to process what she just experienced, but ended up proceeding down the way the being had directed. In the end it was that being that led her to Ordinis. Luna was the one to signal her sister and Discord, and together they had won. But even now, she wondered how things might have gone if she had not come across that strange being.
Drawing back to reality, Luna sighed with relief at the sight of the tomb in the distance. She was not completely sure if she would find Chaos there, but it was a good place to start searching. As she dropped down to ground level, she started to study the small building before her. It was not a very fancy tomb. If one was to look at it from far away it would seem to be a large block of stone. But up close, the stone seemed to shine in the sunlight. Opening the door at the front of it, Luna descended the stairs beyond. Coming upon a small room with a large stone coffin in the center. It was an odd shape, as the coffins that Luna has seen were much squarer than the one before her. This one was long and skinny. Shaking the thoughts away, Luna removed the cover to peer inside. The moment there was a crack of space under the lid, it was burst off. Hitting the wall near the door as it did so.
Red mist started to seep out of the coffin, making Luna back away as it did so. The mist quickly came to a halt, and the room was calm once more. Or so it seemed.
"Who has stepped into my tomb, and awakened me from my slumber?!" A voice boomed into the room, causing Luna to cover her ears with her hooves.
"I'm sorry to disturb you," Luna started, "but I really need your help."
"You need my help? Mmm...continue."
"Well," Luna stood straight and raised her voice, "Ordinis has been released, and I believe that you are possibly the only one that can stop him." Luna didn't plan on letting Chaos know the current situation right away, but if she did not he could have declined her request.
"Ordinis is up and about huh? Well well well." A figure started to materialize in front of Luna from the red mist. It resembled Ordinis almost exactly, save the looks. This being was black with a red aura. His eyes white as pure light. "Could I call myself a gentleman if I refused?" He said, smiling at her.(1*)
~~~
Celestia paced back and forth in her room, getting quite upset with how the the situation at hoof was turning out. She sent two guards to bring Applejack to her room, but they were running a little late. At least she thought so. When the guards returned with Applejack Celestia dismissed them, then told her guest to take a seat. "This may take awhile to explain."
"Not to seem rude or anythin', but what are ya'll gonna explain to me?" Applejack was surprised that Celestia wanted to talk to her specifically. But now that she thought about it, it seemed to make sense. After all, she had spent some time with Ordinis by herself, before this whole mess started.
"I'm going to explain why I need to keep you safe Applejack. And why Ordinis is looking for you."
"Keep me safe? And what are ya'll talking bout' Ordinis looking fer me?"
"You see, right now he is trying to find a descendant of the pony that died so many years ago."
"You mean the one that he loved, and got hanged by that Chaos creep?" Applejack leaned forward, intrigued by the subject.
"Yes, that one. And it just so happens that you are a descendant of that mare. But do not worry too much. You are not a direct relative. Her family split into two a ways down the line. Your family is connected to that blood line, no matter how small of a connection." Celestia sighed, then continued. "You are not who Ordinis is directly looking for, but he could get confused if he finds out about your family history. That's why I want to keep you safe, and out of his hands."
Applejack took a moment to register all of the information that had just bombarded her. Then getting up, "I appreciate the concern princess. And ah thank you dearly, but..." Applejack looked down at the floor, "Wouldn't Ordinis coming here to find me just cause harm for all of you?"
"It may, or may not. Remember that Ordinis may never find out about you. You just need to be careful." Celestia smiled down at Applejack, certain that she had nothing to worry about.
~~~
"You know, getting angry on the first try won't do you any good." Rarity looked at Ordinis. She was worried about him. They were leaving Manehattan to look elsewhere when Ordinis got into a fit.
"Yeah? Well I don't have a lot of time to look. I need to find her now." Walking over to a bench, Ordinis laid down to think. Rarity also decided to lie down, because she was complaining that her hooves were getting tired not two minutes before.
Rarity sat there, watching Ordinis as he was deep in thought. Her mind started to wander to her friends, imagining what they were doing right now. Were they trying to find her? Or were they more focused on Ordinis? Pulling out of her thoughts, Rarity noticed that Ordinis was staring off into the distance, mouth agape. Hesitatingly, she asked, "Ordinis, dear. Is something wrong?"
"I just had a revelation." He turned to face her, "Do you by chance remember what Celestia told me back at Canterlot?"
"That you were crazy to do this? Ah ha ha..." Rarity got nervous at the end of her statement, unsure if she crossed the line or not.
"No." Ordinis replied bluntly, "She told me that I would not find who I was looking for. Why would she say that? To bring my hopes down? No, I think there's more to it than that." Ordinis got off the bench, stretched, then looked back at his entourage. "We're going back to Canterlot. Now."
~~~
Chaos looked down at the alicorn before him with interest. This was his second time every seeing one, as during his time there were three in existence. "Now, before I completely agree to help you," Chaos began, "Will you be a dear and tell me how you managed to let Ordinis get free?"
"Well..." Luna started, but stopped herself short. Chaos was simply alien to her. She had expected somepony that was terrifying, and demanding. But this was not the case. He was polite and asking, even lowering his voice once he faced her. Luna managed to continue her sentence, "...I have no idea how Ordinis escaped his grave, but he did. And I am quite certain that if you helped us, we could put him back."
Chaos stared at Luna for a second, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, I'll help. Better than sleeping in a box."
"You will? Thank..."
"On one condition."
"...you." Luna's face immediately showed annoyance at his statement. She, however, managed to fix that problem rather quickly.
"I want land. Not a lot mind you, but enough." Chaos smiled at Luna's confusion. "You know, like two acres. Something like that."
"I ask for your assistance against Ordinis, and all you want in return is a small piece of land?" Chaos nodded to answer her. At which she smiled. "We have a deal then."
"Love is flower like; Friendship is like a sheltering tree." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Second Contact
Chaos stared up into the bright afternoon sky with a smile. It had been a long time since he had been outside, and he loved it. The warm feeling of the sun on his face, the wind blowing past him. He missed it all so. He took a look all around, to find only plains that stretched for a couple miles in every direction. "Perfect..." He muttered to himself.
Luna emerged from the tomb a minute or so after Chaos, as she was interested in his coffin. She found it fascinating that a simple stone box could hold that much power without being destroyed over such a long period of time. But she was soon distracted by a sudden feeling in her mind. A feeling that closely resembled the nervousness that accompanies danger. This frightened her to a degree, making her gallop outside to investigate. Her findings did not please her.
What Luna found was Chaos, standing a fairly good distance away from the tomb. And he was putting out a lot of power, but only in the form of pressure, so things weren't being destroyed by raw magic. The air around Luna however, started to vibrate, obstructing her vision of him. What she could make out though, was that he was holding a small sphere of magic in front of him.
"What are you doing!?" Luna yelled over to him, hoping he was not going crazy. Chaos turned his head to look at her, then smiled. Normally there was no mouth on him or Ordinis, but this time there was a jagged crack over the lower portion of his face, making a very crude mouth. And just like his eyes, there was only white within. Chaos then looked back in front of him, and threw the little ball that he was holding.
The moment it left his hand, which Luna still didn't fully understand what it was, the pressure from his magic stopped. Seeing a chance, Luna teleported herself right next to Chaos blurting out, "What was that? Do thou intend to do the same as Ordinis?"
After wincing from the sudden boom of Luna's voice, Chaos replied. "I'm sorry if I took you by surprise, but I am sure you can imagine what time can do to one's power." Luna started to say more, but he continued. "I needed to stretch my legs, so to speak. And that little ball that I threw surely did the trick. I feel much better now!"
"You mean to tell me, that that little tiny ball of magic was enough to..." Caught in mid-sentence, Luna was interrupted by the "little ball of magic" exploding. Making a near acre size crater off in the distance. After staring at the result for a few seconds, Luna started to walk away from Chaos replying, "I think I need to lay down for now."
"Good idea! I was just about to suggest that we wait to go see my good friend Ordinis."
"You want us to wait?" Luna replied.
"Yes." Chaos said, sitting down a few feet away from her.
"Why is that?"
"Because," Chaos stared off over the plains, "an opportunity is about to be made."
Canterlot
Ordinis stared at the city walls with a blank stare. He was still pondering on the statement Celestia threw at him before he left, and he was getting annoyed at being confused by it. Rarity on the other hoof was nearly exploding with glee that she was so close to being back with her friends again. Ordinis looked over to her, noticing the envy in her eyes. Sighing, he went over to her saying, "I'm going to teleport us both in. When that happens, you're free to go at your leisure." At the mention of her being able to leave, Rarity looked at him smiling.
"Thank you Ordinis. I'm sure that you will find that pony you're looking for. Maybe I can even convince the others that your cause is just, and our first impressions were a little misguided."
"Don't bother yourself with such troubles." Ordinis replied. "I do not wish for any more distractions in my mission, so please. Do not do that." Rarity looked at him with a spark of confusion in her eyes, but she agreed. Ordinis then teleported her into Canterlot, so she could return to her friends.
Rarity appeared right next to a bakery, on the edge of the main road leading up to the castle. She didn't know if Ordinis had planned where to shoot her to, but she was thankful nonetheless. Taking up a brisk pace, she started to make her way up the the palace, in hopes of possibly finding a guard on the way there. "Oh how I hope Ordinis doesn't cause too much trouble out there."
Rarity did not know how far off she was from the palace itself, but she was hoping that if she found a guard nearby, that he would be able to get her there in no time at all. What she was hoping for, however, was a little different from what was about to happen to her. As she made the next corner, rather quickly, she collided with a stallion who was making the same corner in her direction. Startled at the sudden pony in her face, Rarity screamed. And proceeded to topple over the fellow completely, leaving him quite bewildered.
"Ooh, I am so sorry!" Rarity turned around very quickly to apologize to the stranger she ran over, hoping she was not in any serious trouble for the accident.
"That is quite alright. This is not the first time somepony has ran into me head first." The stallion looked up to look at her, holding a hoof to his forehead. "Besides, you seem like you are in some rush. Mind me asking what?"
"Oh, um." Rarity's brain went numb for a second trying to think on what to say. She didn't want to blurt out that she was going to the palace like she was taking a stroll, but what was the harm in saying it with vague details? "I'm heading up to the palace to see some of my friends. We left each other's side a few days ago, so I came by to check up on them." She smiled wide at the end of her sentence, hoping he would buy it. While she looked at him, she found herself staring at his coat. She had never seen a stallion's coat that black before. It did not shine, even with light directly on it.
"The palace?" The stallion asked, catching her attention. "Doesn't surprise me that much. After all, at first glance I wouldn't expect less of somepony like you. May I ask for a name?
"It's Rarity. And you?" Rarity blushed at the statement.
"Chance. Pleasure to meet you Miss Rarity." Chance gave a little bow before continuing. "Aren't you a little far from the palace? I'm sure I could get you there much faster than you simply walking."
"Oh no that's quite alright."
"Nonsense. I couldn't call myself a gentlecolt if I left a mare such as yourself to walk." Chance put his hoof around her neck swiftly, and put an aura around the two of them. Rarity was surprised to find that he was a unicorn, as she was staring at his body most of the last minute, and did not notice the horn on his head. When she looked up at his face, however, there was no horn on his forehead. She then, quickly, looked at his sides finding wings. If he was a pegasus, then how was it possible that he could use magic? Ordinis had told her that he didn't appear as a unicorn as it made a better disguise. Was that the case here? Realizing she might be in danger, she tried to struggle free. But the teleportation spell was already cast, and they disappeared.
Earlier on the plains...
"Remind me, what is the reason for us waiting here like this?" Luna questioned Chaos with her head turned to look out over the plains.
"I want to wait for the perfect moment to make myself known to the world again. After all, it's not everyday an ex-god wakes up." Chaos said this as he played with fire in the grass. Normally the fire would spread, and burn the surrounding area. But Chaos held perfect control the entire time, making sure the fire never went farther than a couple inches from its starting ember.
"Ex-god? What do you mean by that?" Luna was curious. Chaos did not consider himself to be a god anymore?
"You did not know?" Chaos looked over to her, confusion in his face. "Discord has been the god of chaos for some time now. Since there cannot be more than one reigning god of a particular path, you can say he has taken my place. I am no longer of deity status because of this."
"That makes sense...in a way." Luna's face contorted with confusion.
"It makes perfect sense. Now, go back to waiting." Chaos said this with a smirk on his face, knowing that Luna would get annoyed with him. Which she did.
The two of them sat in silence for what seemed like hours, but was only twenty minutes. Chaos looked down at his watch, realizing this, and sighed.
"Wait. I don't have a watch." Chaos chuckled to himself and de-materialized it, leaving himself now bored. "I wonder what would happen if..." Turning around to look at Luna, laughing maniacally to himself, he called out to her. "Hey Luna!"
"What is it."
"Race ya."
"What...?" Luna turned around to ask Chaos what he meant, only to find that he was now running away from her very quickly. In the direction of Canterlot. "He did not."
"See ya there Luna, don't dally!" Chaos yelled out to her, laughing while he did so. He then started to phase forward, started his jump towards Canterlot.
"Thy will regret this!" Luna yelled out. She then took flight, racing after him at top speed.
~
Chaos felt bad about leaving Luna behind, but only for like six seconds. After all, he did meet a very beautiful mare on his way to Canterlot's Castle. Who was, conveniently, heading to the same place. So, being the gentlemen he was, he picked her up, and carried her up to the palace himself. There, she pronounced her love for him, and they embraced.
To bad that's what Chaos was thinking, and not what actually happened. Their meeting was by mere chance. After he teleported the two of them to the castle, Rarity found herself in the throne room. Right in front of Celestia. This of course, scared the daylight out of the princess, not literally though. Chaos, however, might have been going for that.
"Wha...Rarity?" Celestia's eye grew with shock at the sight of the two ponies before her.
"Ah, hello your majesty!" Rarity quickly dropped into a bow, while Chaos rolled his eyes at the sight.
"I did not expect to see you for another hour or so. Speaking of which..." Rarity turned her head to stare at Chance. "How did you get us in..." Rarity cut her sentence off halfway to gape at Chance's forehead. A black horn was now protruding from it, and the wings previously at his sides were now gone.
"Well, about that." Chaos put on his best mischievous look, just for hoots. "Seems like the wards around the castle aren't as great as their cracked up to be. Oh well." Yawning, Chaos put his hoof up to his mouth. "I really should be going now. Really tired and all."
"Hold on a moment please." Chaos looked up towards Celestia as she spoke. And immediately groaned. "I would very much like to know how exactly you two got in here. I myself overlooked the set up of the barriers, and you bypassed them like nothing." Walking up to the two of them, she continued. "I find that quite hard to believe, especially that you also managed to get into the throne room itself, which is quite a ways in."
"OK, firstly." Chaos began. "This room is not far in at all, and I pride myself on my movement techniques. So yeah. And secondly, if those barriers are as good as you say they are, then why is there no alarm for when somepony does get in? Not a very good security system if you ask me."
When Chaos finished, Rarity starred at him in shock. He clearly knew who he was talking to, yet he spoke in such a common style, like she was a neighbor of his, and not one of the Princesses of Equestria. Celestia also noticed, but took no offense. Sometimes it was refreshing to hear somepony talk her like an equal. But under the current circumstances, she was quite annoyed with this particular stallion. Not only did he infiltrate her Palace, but he did so accompanied by Rarity who appeared to have no idea he would do what he did.
"Now," Chaos started once again, "Like I have said before, I am quite tired. Why not chat about this silly thing some time later? Plus, I'm sure Rarity here wants to ask me some questions of her own." Celestia looked at him for a time, then called for a guard.
"I can assume you will stay in your room for the meantime and stay quiet?" Celestia questioned. She hoped that this stranger would cause no trouble around the palace, but just to be sure she was going to send some guards to standby in the hallway outside his room.
"Yes, but I will say this." Chaos smiled at her before turning around to face the door at the far end. "I can get bored fairly quickly."
Chaos stared at the door handle for a bit before going into his room. It had been some time since he had seen any form of society whatsoever. Even now, he was having a hard time getting used to it. So, after he entered the room, locking the door behind him, he changed his form back to his natural look. He always felt more free this way. To him, disguising himself as something else was unnatural and wrong. It always seemed like a prison.
Taking a look around his room, he noticed a bookshelf, and a bed with a small nightstand next to it. Wasn't much, but he could manage with what he had. Snapping his fingers, he started to work his magic. The bookshelf split down the middle, growing vines out of the space that was now there into the floor. A tree grew out of the nightstand, that was now a dark purple and double in size, that only stood up to the ceiling. The bed started to bend strangely, eventually becoming stiff again. The wooden frame was now very dark in shade, with the sheets now a navy blue. The mattress went hollow, and turned itself into a water bed. And while all of that was happening, grass was growing up from the floor. Out in the hall, a sign was cut out from the wall reading, “Welcome” in bright red, with an arrow pointing towards the door. It also lit up every now and then.
Happy with his work, Chaos went over to the bed, grabbing a book with his magic, and started to read away.
When Rarity walked into the room, her friends screamed, then formed a large group hug around her. She was naturally, very happy to see them again, and was going to tell them everything that has happened since she was taken. However, she was snapped out of these happy thoughts when she heard somepony yelling outside in the hallway. The six of them peered outside to see what the commotion was about, and saw two guards arguing about something outside of a door with a red welcome sign on the wall. Rarity gasped when she realized that the room the guards were in front of was Chance’s room. Her mind started to come up with the worst possible conclusions, making her sure something wrong happened.
“Excuse me. But if you’re going to be so loud could you please do it somewhere else? I doubt that if somepony is in that room he or she would not be happy with how rude you two are being.” Twilight had gone over to the guards, and was now talking to them in a stern voice. Rainbow Dash and Applejack was snickering at seeing how the two stallions were surprised at the sudden attack. Fluttershy went back in the room not wanting to be a part of an argument, while Pinkie Pie stared at the sign on the wall, and going “Oooh!” whenever it lit up. Rarity quickly ran up to the guards also, concerned with why they were even there in the first place. But waited to speak until Twilight was done with her rant.
“Why are you two even arguing about something out here in front of the guest rooms anyways? Seems a little unprofessional if you ask me.”
“Well ma’am, Celestia asked us to stand guard out here.” One of them replied.
“Celestia? Did she tell you why?” Twilight’s interest just peaked. Making Rarity get even more nervous.
“No. That’s what we were arguing about. Vortex here says he heard that he heard somepony got into the castle without even trying, and that Celestia let him stay in this room. I think thats a load of horseradish, but who knows.” When he finished, Rarity lost it.
“She sent you two to watch him? I would have sent more, but then again…” Realizing she just blurted out info into the open, she quickly covered her mouth with her hoof. But the damage was done. However, before anything could be said to her, the door opened.
A head, that looked quite a bit like Ordinis' but black, poked out through the opening. "Could you four please keep it down out here? I'm trying to sleep and you are all being quite noisy. Thanks." It then shut the door leaving all four of them, including Applejack and Rainbow down the hall, speechless.
"Rarity..." Twilight was in shock at what she just saw. It looked just like Ordinis, but was different at the same time. "Please tell me you don't know who that is."
"Well..." Rarity herself was also completely surprised at what came out of the door. "I was expecting somepony else completely. After all, the pony that brought me here was staying in that..." She stopped herself upon realizing it. Running up to the door, she flung it open.
Rarity nearly jumped back into Twilight when she saw the face again, mere inches away from her. They stared at each other for a moment, then the black Ordinis sighed. "So I ask you to be quiet, and you respond by bursting into my room. OK, I guess I can take that...maybe." He then straightened to address them. "What do you want?"
Twilight was the first to speak, mainly as the other three ponies were scared out of their hides. "Why did you come back here? I thought you were done with us." She spoke through her teeth.
"Come back? My dear mare, I believe this is my first visit in a very long time. And might I say that Celestia and Luna have themselves quite a place here. Although the rooms were a little bland, but I fixed that right up." He motioned behind him, showing them the dramatically changed scenery.
"What are you talking about Ordinis?" Twilight was getting annoyed now. He was going to play games with her? "This is the second time, as during your first visit you nearly killed all of us."
"Ordinis you say..." He took a step towards them, the air growing heavy, and the light around them fading. "You call me by that name? You know not of who I am, so you assume I am Ordinis?Speak with care little pony, for you tread on thin ice!"
When he finished, the air let up, along with the light returning. He breathed in and out heavily, trying to calm himself, and sat down in a chair then appeared underneath him. While he looked at them, two more ponies came up from the hallway. The first one seemed like a farm mare with a brown hat, the other cyan in color with a rainbow mane, which made him chuckle to himself. The first one though caught his attention quickly, and he held his gaze with her. He could see her history, he knew what she had gone through when Ordinis was here, he also knew that she may or may not be in imminent danger. This intrigued him, but he decided to address it at a later time.
"Sorry for the outburst. I just don't like being called someone else." Chaos said in a calm manner.
"So then..." Twilight started, ready to run if she had to. "You're not Ordinis?"
"No."
"Then, who are you?"
"There it is!" Chaos raised his hands up in glee. "A simply question that is answerable. Well my dear mare, my name is Chaos. I have just got up and have heard about your plight involving Ordinis."
"Chaos? How can you be Chaos? I thought Discord ruled over that." Twilight inquired. This was strange, but not strange enough for her to pull back her inquisitive nature.
"Well, Discord rules over it now. I, however, was the ruling entity of that domain back in the day. Ordinis ruled over order, while I ruled over everything chaotic. Simple really." Chaos smirked at her, tickled by the fact that this pony was so very curious about him.
"So...you're like an old god that came back for a reason unknown to us, and you just so happen to represent chaos in its entirety?" Twilight finished, almost confusing herself with the assortment of randomness of the current event.
"Yeah. I don't see how you're having such a hard time getting all of this. But putting this matter aside, who is that." Chaos pointed over at Applejack, making her take a step back.
"Why would you need to know?" Twilight said defensively.
"Well, I don't really need to know. I was just wondering why she had a family connection to..." Chaos, being suddenly interrupted, was flung against the wall by a dark blue alicorn.
"Thou think you could leave me behind like that!?"
"Calm down Luna..." Chaos managed to say. Getting up, he looked at her, surprised that she was able to make it here so quickly. He misjudged her abilities, and was angry at himself for doing so. Right now, however, he needed to focus on the situation prior.
"Back to the original topic, you're related to Lily. I'm quite shocked you don't know that." Turning to Luna, he continued. "I'm quite surprised no one told her this Luna. If Ordinis is after Lily's descendants why would you not tell this pony she may be a target?" Reaching out with his magic, Chaos grabbed the book he was reading off the bed, and gave it to Applejack. "Check the third page in."
Applejack flipped open the book to page three, and stared at the picture before her. Strange, though, that it wasn't exactly a picture at all. It moved like film, but simply looped the same thing over and over again. There were two ponies standing next to each other; a stallion and a mare. The mare stood out compared to the stallion. She had a yellow coat with a bright, but pale, green mane and tail. Her hair was done simple. Combed forward, then curling up above her eyes. She had a scarf around her neck that matched her hair in color, but her eyes were quite strange. They didn't seem to belong to her at all, as they were a deep, vibrant purple.
The Stallion was curious as well, but seemed to elude her interest. His coat was an incredible black, along with his mane being a possible shade lighter. She couldn't see his eyes as he was turned away from the front of the picture.
"The mare, as expected, is Lily. She always did have such amazing eyes." Chaos stared at the picture over Applejack's shoulder for a moment, then took a step back. "That is your very distant relative, and Ordinis is looking for someone that shares a bloodline with her. The reason for this though, not even I know."
"So Applejack here is in danger?" Luna inquired. "We need to have her under protection, in case Ordinis makes a move against us."
"Hold on just a second." Twilight stepped up, directing herself at Chaos. "I'm not so sure I can fully trust you after all that's happened to us. I mean, you didn't do anything, but you're like Ordinis' associate. We have no idea what your intentions are."
"True...but truth be told, I have no intentions, as you put it." Chaos sat down on the bed, keeping his gaze on Twilight. "I have been away for a long time, and I am full of energy. The only thing I wish to do now is explore, while I can. But enough talk about this. Let's chat about how you wish to rid yourselves of Ordinis."
~~~
Walls seem sturdy, and the guards are on constant watch. Along with this barrier that's been put up, it seems Celestia has finally decided to stop taking me so lightly. Ordinis stared at the city of Canterlot from a distance, planning out his next move. He no longer kept his disguise up, seeing no need for such a thing at the moment. "I'm going to hit soon, and hard. Are you prepared for what is to come princesses? I do hope so, otherwise you will both lose everything, and I will be left to pick up the pieces."
Twilight stared at the door, thinking about past events. They told Chaos everything that had happened to them. He listened intently, and pitched in when he deemed it necessary, sharing his thoughts. She remembered him telling them to explain how they wanted to fight back against Ordinis, but after hearing of the events, he told them to hold on to their thoughts, and that he would talk to them in the morning. Twilight was happy that Chaos had decided to work on their side, but didn't know what to make of him. He seemed quite genuine in wanting to help them, but appearances could be deceiving. Especially when they have the upper hand in have their identity practically unknown. Laying her head down against her pillow, Twilight closed her eyes, wanting sleep. They had apparently been talking for some time, as it was already nearing late evening. Laying her head down against her pillow, Twilight closed her eyes. Only a few moments passed before her mind complied.
~~~
Twilight woke slowly, becoming conscious without even opening her eyes. Annoyed with how her head felt against the floor, she turned over, hoping for a better position.
"Wait..." Twilight grumbled. Eyes flashing open, Twilight sprung up onto her hooves, realizing that she didn't fall asleep on a stone floor last night. The first thing that she noticed about her new surroundings was that there was nothing around here. Just empty white space, with a tiled stone floor. She was alarmed to see that Chaos was there with her, sleeping against a tree in the distance. Also, that Applejack was a few meters behind her, currently sleeping. Extremely confused about her current situation, Twilight trotted on over to Applejack. "Hey, Applejack. Wake up." Twilight poked her friend in the head. "Wake up! You need to see this!" She yelled. Applejack sprung awake, swinging her head around in surprise at being suddenly woken up.
"Twi?" Applejack said upon noticing her standing next to her. "Wha...Where are we?"
"I have no idea. But I am sure I know somepony who can answer that." Upon saying this, Twilight turned, and started walking towards Chaos.
"I don't think that's such a good idea Twi. You sure he's okay with you waking him up?" Applejack said.
"It'll be fine. I think." Twilight reached where Chaos was sleeping, and poked him the leg. "Hey, uh, Chaos? Can you wake up please?" She said halfheartedly. Chaos flinched awake, making Twilight jump back from the sudden movement.
"APPLES!" Chaos yelled out. He then fell forward, landing face first onto the floor.
"What...?" Twilight stared at him, completely confused by his statement.
"I was having a dream about carnivorous apples. And...wow, this place needs to get jazzed up." Chaos stood back up, looking around him. "Like wow. You see how boring this place looks?" Both Applejack and Twilight ignored him, seeing how he was now acting in a similar way to Discord. And they knew how to deal with that.
"Chaos, we need to know where we are. And possibly how we got here." Twilight began.
"Do you now. Well, this place is what I like to call the Never. I created it actually. Pretty cool huh. Oh, and I also brought you two here. Now, before you start blabbing on oh why did you do this Chaos, you're so mean Chaos, I was just trying to sleep Chaos. I have good reason for doing this. Number one! I want to teach you a spell Twilight. Number two! I want to have a chat with you Applejack. That's it." Chaos starred at them, waiting for a reply. Twilight was left speechless, while Applejack deadpanned.
"Why do you need to talk to me." Applejack questioned.
"Because I don't really want to talk to the other one." Chaos pointed at Twilight indicating he meant her.
"Hey!"
"Kidding! But really. I want to tell you all about Lily, as I am sure you are going to need to know this. But before we get to that..." Chaos turned away from Applejack, and loomed over Twilight, laughing to himself and putting on a sly grin. This made Twilight quite uncomfortable, and made her step back nervously. "Time for some magic."
~~~
Twilight stood in front of Chaos, with him keeping a distance between them. Twilight was nervous. She was about to get a magic lesson from Chaos! She didn't know whether to be happy or scared. "Alright listen up." Chaos started. "I'm only going to be able to teach you one spell, as I don't believe we would have enough time for much else. The spell is a powerful offensive attack, meant to pierce your opponents defenses with ease. It's big, it's flashy, but it doesn't explode. Everything that makes a scary spell work. So. You ready?" Twilight nodded slowly, but tensed up, ready for the lesson.
"Alright. This spell is cast a little differently from your normal spells. I want you to try and form a spear with your magic. That's all."
"Just a spear? OK..." Twilight concentrated, and willed her magic to life. Her horn flared up, leaking magic into the air before her, roughly taking the form of a spear. "Is that good?"
"Yes that's fine." Chaos replied, flicking the spear at the head. "Now, pour magic into the spearhead, make it the focus point. But don't leave the rest of it empty, put just enough into pole section to give it weight." Twilight nodded, and did as she was told. It was surprisingly hard to do as he asked though. She had trouble separating the power into two focal points. In fact, she was barely able to do it at all. "Having trouble?" Chaos asked, noticing her struggle.
"No, no. Its just, very draining to do this." Twilight responded through gritted teeth.
"Really? Well I shouldn't find that surprising. I do have a lot more power than you do." Chaos closed his eyes, thinking hard on what to do. Twilight stopped, as she realized she would just exhaust herself if she continued. "I got it!" Chaos exclaimed. "Try to put one source at the back of the spear, and use it like a flood gate. That way the magic will concentrate at the head, but will still leave power distributed everywhere else." Twilight nodded, and attempted. It was much easier than before, and she managed to finish without too much effort. "Great! Now, hurl it at me."
"What?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Throw it at me."
"Wh...why?!"
"Well we need to test how strong you managed to make it. We can't throw at a rock as it can't make its own shield. We need to see how it fares against another's magic."
"But, won't I hurt you?"
"That's the goal yes." Chaos replied. "But I doubt you could do any serious, life-threatening damage to me. So come on. Give it a hurl." Twilight was still unsure, but complied. It was logical to test a spell that was meant to pierce magic, against magic. "And throw it hard, don't want false data do we?" Chaos chuckled before putting a glistening, blood red mirror before him. Twilight halted for a moment, staring at it in amazement. As far as she knew, Ordinis and Chaos both used magic not out of horns, as they didn't have any, but out of what appeared to be their main appendages. But what amazed her was that Chaos never moved. There was no hint of any kind of activation or spell casting. The shield simply appeared before him. Shaking her head, she recomposed herself, and aimed. Taking a step back, Twilight threw the spear hard, aimed right at the center of the shield.
~~~
Chaos smiled as she stared at the shield in front of him. He assumed that she was amazed at his magic, and was studying it now. He didn't mind. He enjoyed the attention of others. Staring at her, he noticed she was finally ready to throw her spell at him. I wonder how strong it'll be. She is the supposed Element of Magic, but I can't see how she can be that...wait. Right before the spear made contact with the shield, Chaos noticed something peculiar about it. He noticed that it was going to go through his shield like it was nothing, and make a direct hit on him. Possibly going right on through him in the process. Chaos was startled. He had no idea prior to this that this Twilight was capable of something like this. And it wasn't like he made his shield that weak. This spear was just that strong.
Twilight's spell ripped through the shield like butter, and impaled itself in his left side. Twilight, Chaos, and Applejack were all shocked by this. Chaos the most, seeing how he now had a magic spear in his side. Chaos fell to one knee from the shock, while both Applejack and Twilight ran over to him, shouting if he was alright. Gripping the spear, Chaos used his own magic to disintegrate it, and put his hand over his now bleeding side.
Twilight gasped at seeing a bright orange fluid running out from Chaos' wound, and immediately started to cry. Applejack tried to get closer to see if he was OK, but Chaos held out his free hand, keeping her from getting close.
"I'm OK, really. I just wasn't expecting her spear to be that powerful. I must say, I really underestimated you Twilight."
"I'm so sorry! I...I...I didn't mean to hurt you, but you said to throw it hard, and..." Twilight said through sobs.
"It's OK Twilight, it is. Besides, it isn't that bad. I'll dress it up now, so just hold on..." Chaos summoned a red dresser next to him, and opened the top drawer. He pulled out some red, see-through bandages, and proceeded to take care of his wound by wrapping it around his whole mid-section. Some of his blood spilled through his fingers, hitting the floor. It, however, sizzled and evaporated on contact. "There, see? All better. Nothing to worry about." Chaos sat down, laying one arm across his legs, the other, limp at his side.
"B...bu...but your hurt and all." Twilight stuttered out behind sobs.
"This is not that serious, and I've treated it quickly." Chaos lifted his arm straight into the air, proving his point that his side was alright.
"Come on Twi, he's fine!" Applejack said reassuringly. Chaos sighed to himself, seeing that Twilight was really taking it hard that she hurt him. Digging through his thoughts, Chaos searched for a way to try and calm her down, but how. Then it came to him.
"Hey Twilight, how about I tell you how my magic works? I'm sure you of all ponies would love to hear about that." When he finished, Twilight rubbed her eyes dry, and looked up at him, still sniffling.
"Doesn't your magic work like everypony else?"
"Not even close." Chaos smiled to himself, knowing he had her. "You see, me and Ordinis have a very unique form of magic. It's called Enhancement Magic."
"Enhancement Magic?" Twilight asked, her curiosity taking over.
"Yes, I just said that. But it appears we don't have much time left here, and I still need to talk to Applejack about Lily, so this'll have to wait for later."
"Not much time? What ya mean by that?" Applejack exclaimed.
"Ah, you see, time in the Never works like a dream would. How long is a dream? You'd probably only have one or two a night, and they seem short, yet ten hours have past." Chaos looked at her with a compassionate look. "And believe me, it is almost sunrise by now. Now, where should we start."
"At the beginning?" said Applejack. She was in no way wanting to learn everything there was to know about this Lily, but she still didn't want to blow through it quickly.
"HA! There's no way I'd be willing to tell you everything." Chaos' answer made both Twilight and Applejack jump. "But I suppose I could simply fill you in a little at a time...Very well. Let's start at the...start."
"Lily was the daughter of two ponies. A earth pony called Rail, and a pegasus called Sunshine. Although Rail's friends usually called him Tracks to piss him off. He was a lover of anything remotely close to industry. He was also the one who came up with this whole idea of locomotion. Sunshine was a weather pony, and was especially good at making beautiful summer days. She loved the sun. Also hated winter. Anyways, Lily grew up being a gardener, and got her own little flower shop a couple of weeks after she moved out of her parents place. She always had her favorite flowers, Lisianthus, in stock. She absolutely adored the purple ones, and usually had one in a vase on the front counter. She lived a relatively normal life during her very early years, usually alone. It wasn't like she was slow to trusting. She just never thought about relationships before. Well, that is until she met me. We met on the eve of the summer solstice. For me it was love at first sight. For her, it was more in the lines of creepy. I only saw her for a moment, but I didn't approach her. I kept my distance for three weeks."
"Three weeks?!" Applejack interrupted. "What were ya waiting for?" "Well Applejack, I had duties to perform, and I didn't get out much. I wanted to be absolutely sure I wasn't going to mess something up. Moving on. I went into her shop and complimented her flowers a bit, also some fruits, no vegetables. From there I slowly edged my way into her life, and asked her out. I'm going to skip forward a little here, but eventually, 15 years down the road, Ordinis found out about my relationship with Lily, and saw it as a 'gigantic threat towards the balance' and such. I laughed in his face and ate my toast. It was like, 5 in the morning. After that, we argued a bunch, and certain events unfolded from there. Even to this day I remember her, as if she was still here next to me. But, that's all I have to say about that today, you two should get back. Besides, all of this is just a small piece of history. Nothing to get crazed about" Chaos looked at the two mares in front of him, clearly see the sadness and pity in their eyes. Closing his eyes, Chaos closed off the Never, sending all three of them back into reality.
~~~
Chaos woke, staring at the ceiling. Sighing, he swung his legs off the bed, and headed over to the bathroom to prepare for the day ahead of him. Thoughts of the far past still lingering in his mind.
